Agenda item

Consider report by Service Director Assets and Infrastructure.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 7 of the Minute of 19 May 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Assets and Infrastructure seeking approval of the Section 37 Interim Reports for the Tweed, Solway and Forth Estuary Local Flood Risk Management Plans (LFRMP), as a true reflection of the progress made in the first 3 years of the 6 year Flood Risk Management (FRM) cycle 2016 - 2022 to mitigate flood risk in the Scottish Borders.  The report explained that this approval was required to allow for the publication of the Section 37 Interim Reports for each Local Flood Risk Management Plan in Scotland by 22 June 2019.  The inception of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRM Act) required the production of Local Flood Risk Management Plans covering each Local Plan District (LPD) in Scotland.  Scottish Borders Council’s area fell within 3 of the 14 Local Plan Districts in Scotland.  These were:  Forth Estuary LPD, Tweed LPD and Solway LPD.  There were two sets of complementary plans; Flood Risk Management Strategies which were approved by Scottish Ministers and subsequently published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on 22 December 2015 and Local Flood Risk Management Plans produced by Lead Authorities and published 22 June 2016.  Scottish Borders Council was the Lead Authority for Tweed Local Plan District.  The Flood Risk Management Strategies and Local Flood Risk Management Plans had been developed through collaborative partnerships between Local Authorities, SEPA and Scottish Water and provided a framework for co-ordinating actions across catchments to deal with all sources of flooding.  These Plans ensured long term planning around flooding and under Section 41(2) of the FRM Act, Scottish Ministers had to take them into account when allocating funding.  This approach helped target investment to areas where there was the greatest risk of flooding and where communities could receive the greatest benefit.  Section 37 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 required that the Lead Authority of each Local Plan District between years 2 & 3 of the FRM Cycle (2016 – 2022), review and publish an Interim Report on the progress made in implementing the measures to mitigate flood risk detailed in the relevant Local Flood Risk Management Plan and approval was required to allow for national publication by 22 June 2019.  Members welcomed the report.  In response to a query on natural flood management studies, the Flood and Coastal Management Team Leader advised that they were trying to model the whole catchment areas above both Hawick and Galashiels.  This level of modelling had not been attempted before and would take some time but it was anticipated that a consultant would be appointed for the Hawick Area soon.

DECISION

AGREED to approve the:-

(a)       S37 Interim Report for the Tweed Local Flood Risk Management Plan;

(b)       S37 Interim Report for the Solway Local Flood Risk Management Plan; and

(c)    S37 Interim Report for the Forth Estuary Local Flood Risk Management Plan.